Field
Implementations described herein generally relate to semiconductor manufacturing and more particularly to a substrate support assembly suitable for high temperature semiconductor manufacturing.
Description of the Related Art
Reliably producing nanometer and smaller features is one of the key technology challenges for next generation very large scale integration (VLSI) and ultra large-scale integration (ULSI) of semiconductor devices. However, as the limits of circuit technology are pushed, the shrinking dimensions of VLSI and ULSI interconnect technology have placed additional demands on processing capabilities. Reliable formation of gate structures on the substrate is important to VLSI and ULSI success and to the continued effort to increase circuit density and the quality of individual substrates.
To drive down manufacturing cost, integrated chip (IC) manufactures demand higher throughput and better device yield and performance from every silicon substrate processed. Improving temperature uniformity of electrostatic chucks has been identified as one area that can improve device yield. Conventional electrostatic chucks are typically bonded to a cooling plate in the substrate support assembly. The conventional electrostatic chucks utilize a plurality of heaters along with the cooling plate to maintain temperature control along the surface of the silicon substrate during processing. However, conventional cooling bases do not always have rotational or azimuthal temperature symmetry. Currently cooling bases flow cooling liquid through plenums which cannot not always prevent higher temperatures in certain areas due to heat flux from chuck heaters and the plasma formed in the chamber. Additionally, local cold spots are often associated with portions of the cooling base through which lift pins, thermocouples, power lines and He supply lines are present. The non-uniformity of temperatures across the substrate support skews the processing results for the substrates undergoing processing thereon. Thus, correcting the non-uniformity of the substrate support temperature lowers throughput and decreases device yield and performance for the processing chambers.
Thus, there is a need for an improved substrate support assembly.